SPEECH OF THANKS by HRH the Prince of Orange at the dinner hosted by the government on 25 January 2002 in honour of the forthcoming wedding of the Prince to Ms Máxima Zorreguieta

Mr Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen,

Custom still dictates that it is the male half of a bridal couple who speaks on such occasions. How long that custom will remain, I don’t know - not much longer, I suspect. However, that custom means that it is to me that the pleasant task falls of responding to your particularly warm words. At the same time, I am well aware that Máxima would be capable of performing this task just as well as, if not better than me, and probably in better Dutch.

As I hear myself speaking in this historic hall, I feel a little like the member of the British Upper House who once recounted a dream he had had. He said: ‘I dreamt that I was addressing the House of Lords and when I woke up, I was.’

In the run-up to our wedding, this dinner is a very special event. In the first place we wish to extend our very sincere thanks to you and the other members of the government who have invited us here as guests this evening.

But our thanks extend far beyond this evening. During the past year we have received - and needed - a great deal of support both from the government and Parliament. This has helped to make the path to our wedding smoother. We are both extremely grateful for the confidence that was placed in us in this way.

The purpose of our tour through the twelve provinces and four major cities was to enable the Dutch people to get to know Máxima, and to enable Máxima to get to know the Dutch people. We were very struck by the enormous amount of good will we encountered during that tour, and by the spontaneity and warmth with which so many people received Máxima and, as it were, welcomed her into their lives. We are looking forward with great pleasure to our visit to the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba in May.

We are also grateful for the Orange Fund and for the very generous way in which so many Dutch citizens have contributed to it, as well as for the substantial contribution the government was prepared to make to the Fund. We chose this gift in the hope that it might help to further a sense of mutual community between the different cultures in our society. Thanks to this combined effort, under the motto ‘shoulder to shoulder, not back to back’, it will be possible to take initiatives in the areas of the young, culture, sport and education which will help bring the achievement of this goal closer. It is our firm intention to continue our personal involvement in the activities generated by the Fund.

As everyone will understand, for all these reasons we feel ourselves to be a very fortunate and privileged couple during this period. Sadly, there is one shadow on that sense of good fortune: the crisis which Máxima’s fatherland is currently going through. Every now and then, we suddenly find that our thoughts are there. We hope that wisdom and solidarity will help ensure that the socio-economic tide in Argentina will be turned as quickly as possible.

Mr Prime Minister, The relationship between us has to date been a very special one - and it is likely to remain so in the future. I have much to thank you for: your advice, your support and the many things you have said which have given me food for thought. On several occasions we have had an opportunity for a good, open exchange of views. More than once you have been willing to put your trust in me. For that, too, I am extremely grateful.

There is really only one thing left for me to say. My public utterances fall under your ministerial responsibility. I would therefore express the hope that you will find yourself able to agree - at least in broad terms - with what I have just said.

We thank you all!